Forbes accommodation ready to welcome Inland Rail

Manager Lynette Whiting moved to Forbes to manage the Town & Country Motor Inn in January this year. The former nurse manager was looking for a change and the country air and friendly Forbes community delivered.

“I was brought up in the country so it’s nice to be back and this is a very relaxing place,” Ms Whiting said.

The motel neighbours the Forbes golf course, providing visitors with a peaceful outlook just minutes outside the centre of town.

“We are pretty much half-way between Melbourne and Brisbane and a lot of people say they will drive to Forbes for the history and stop for a night,” she said. “And with the Covid shutdown, a lot of people are looking to see Australia and what we have here is a good set-up.”

Ms Whiting is not only referring to the set-up of Forbes itself geographically and historically, but also the Town & Country Motor Inn’s location.

“We’re close to the golf course, there is somewhere to eat with the hotel behind us, and we have parking for trucks and trailers; a lot of people come for that,” she said. “Plus, people say we have the best beds they’ve slept on in a motel.”

In addition to tourists, the business is well appointed for business travellers and those who need accommodation while working in town. Ms Whiting said she expected the advent of Inland Rail to offer a lot of good opportunities to the town.

“It will be a big boost here for the community of Forbes,” she said. “It will help the farmers who need to move their grain and produce, and it will bring more people out here to farm.

“But everything is going to benefit, because jobs will bring people and their income will increase turnover in local businesses because they need to eat, drink and have somewhere to stay.”

“I think it will bring a lot of people to live out here too once they see what it’s like living in our country town,” she said with a smile.